Justice Thomas Visits Stetson Law
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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas addresses students at Stetson Law on Feb. 2. Click for high-resolution image.
On Feb. 2., U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas visited to talk with a crowd of students gathered in the Great Hall at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Fla.
Justice Thomas talked about the importance of the law and of the courts and then engaged in a lively topical discussion with students.
“It’s a humbling job,” Justice Thomas said of his role on the Supreme Court.
“Do not give up,” he urged the law students gathered to hear him talk on Tuesday morning. He said of his own experience as a law student, “One day, years later, everything clicked.”
(L-R): Justice Clarence Thomas with President Wendy Libby and Dean Darby Dickerson. Click for high-resolution image.
Born in the tiny impoverished town of Pin Point, Ga., Justice Thomas grew up in Savannah, Ga., and ultimately graduated with a law degree from Yale.
From 1981-1982, Justice Thomas served as Assistant Secretary of Education for the Office of Civil Rights in the U.S. Dept. of Education and from 1982-1990, was chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
He served on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals before being nominated to fill a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.
“You have to be honest, conscientious and thorough,” Justice Thomas said of being a good lawyer.
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In 2007, My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir, was published about Justice Thomas. The book spans Thomas’s life from early childhood through the present, focusing on his upbringing, struggles against racism, intellectual evolution, self-reliance and conviction, and ultimate confirmation to the Supreme Court. Justice Thomas succeeds Thurgood Marshall as only the second African-American to serve on the high court. His book was number one on the New York Times non-fiction best-seller list.
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Post date: Feb. 1, 2010
Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
[email protected] | 727-430-1580